The Sword Meister Chronicles
by Sashah Anna Oosta
Summary: Madness is suffocating - it seeps like light from a moon - how long will it be before it spreads across the world and something finally decides to use it to destroy us all? We thought the Kishin was the most dangerous man alive...we were wrong. OC.
1. Arc 1 Chapter 1

**Well – here is another Manga/Anime that I plan to abuse horrible – I mean…write an awesome tale about.**

**Hehe.**

**So, in case you haven't read any of my masterpieces before, this will be told from an entirely different pov and character profile. If you don't understand, maybe you should look into my profile and check out the chick that I randomly insert into my stories, haha. This story is obviously about a Sword Meister, so it's safe to assume that there's another character (or a few) inserted into this tale, and deftly weaved into the lives of our favorite Soul Eater characters. **

**Personally, I'm really excited about writing something for Soul Eater, I've wanted to for a while now - but inspiration somehow kept alluding me. But - here I am, with a wonderful new take on the who deal with madness - and also inspired by the latest Soul Eater chapter (83). I'm not quite sure if this has any real timeline in keeping with the manga...but, I do think that Soul will be a Death Scythe...he's just cooler that way, lol. **

**Anywho – this will somehow involve the main characters of Soul Eater – and it will blossom into absolute beauty! If you want to know more about it, look it up in my profile, or PM me - or, you could just trust me when I clear my throat...ahem...and say: SOULMAKA!...heh...**

**Oh, and as always, READ and REVIEW please! I'm a horrible editor, so I need you peeps to tell me where I have a spelling/grammar/completely missed word mistake, m'kay?**

**Alright – let's do this.**

**I don't own Soul Eater, any of the characters, or any Soul Eater paraphernalia. Aw. I made myself sad.**

**Part One:**

**The Call of Death**

_**-Who could be calling?**_

_**We do not understand.  
We do not comprehend….  
But we are not made to.**_

_**-Who could be calling?  
We wonder:  
Perhaps it is the God of us  
But we are not permitted to wonder so –**_

_**This is the stage – these are our lines  
We are called only to act and save -  
Now let the curtain rise…  
We Are Ready.**_

_**Begin Chapter One:**_

* * *

"Well," Selene watched the sun drop out of the sky, and then be swiftly replaced by a ghoulish looking moon, "This is new."

Her back still hurt from landing in the middle of nowhere, but she was quickly getting over that. Not only did she not know where the hell she was, she also didn't know how she was going to get back. She tested her shoulders - pleased when they didn't ache. Then her knees. Then her feet. Wonderful - so it was only her back then, she could live with that. Looking around, she took in the slightly scary looking buildings that surrounded her, and wondered about what sort of place this might be.

"Oh, this is so not cool!" Selene let her head fall into her hands, groaning and moaning, not caring if the people walking in the streets saw her. She was in the middle of a crisis – it would be nice if somebody in the world cared! She had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming both in frustration and annoyance.

Okay Selene, she thought to herself, get a hold of yourself. All you have to do is figure out where the hell you are, meet some nice people, and then figure out how the hell to get back.

Back to where again?

She didn't know…there really wasn't a place to go back to – but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was plopped down in a strange place, with strange people, and a strange moon to top it all off and what was expected of her was that she-

Wait, was it laughing?

Selene shivered – maybe she shouldn't pay attention to that. No, she should pay attention to her surroundings – this was a town, a city even – there was a center to this city, where she could probably find some information about it – and hopefully as she wandered around she would run into somebody who could help her out.

God, she hoped she wasn't here alone.

The last mission she had faced alone had ended…slightly tragically. Getting up, Selene patted her pants, brushing off the dirt and dust.

Well, what was she supposed to do now?

Right – she had to follow the call, find out whoever managed to call her here, and see what the problem was. Simple enough…

The moon was still laughing – creepily, moodily, freakishly – it sent shivers down her spine. But, then she wondered why it even bothered her? Wasn't this the same moon that she's seen every night since she was young? The same moon that has welcomed her midnight presence since before she can remember?

That's funny to her, because she doesn't remember anything about it – but now she has too. She was responsible to assume any memory that she needed to help her achieve her mission, and her brain was already cataloguing everything about this new place and making some make-shift memories.

Resolved, Selene faced the mood – watching it laugh with admiration instead of fear. This would be the first of her memories – just her and the moon, together night after night as she would begin her quest to save yet another world.

There's a world she needs to get back to, she recalled suddenly, but that thought is soon sent back into her heart. She wouldn't think about that again. Now, there was only that moon – and that laugh, and then she laughed too.

This was one of those moments – the type that people never forgot, not even after they were old.

"Alright," Selene made a silent promise to herself –to never fear that moon again, and anything else in her entire life. Useful, she deemed, in a world she knew nothing about.

The streets suddenly looked very welcoming – warm and bright and long – with the moonlight shimmering against the cobble stone.

Her heels click against the ground – she realized for the first time that she was wearing old khaki pants and a white tank top.

Still white? That's surprising – but that thought didn't make any sense, so she ignored it.

"Are you still wondering, deep soul of those we seek – don't let this life be daunting, for this is the life you reaped," She sang to herself, in a low, rough voice. She was alone – but she didn't feel alone, not with the echoes of her voice returning to her from all directions, and that moon hovering huge and maniac above her.

Selene decided that this wasn't so bad – just the moon and her – and this late hour. Maybe she could stay like that forever. Her tune screeches to a halt as her voice faltered, off key.

What was she thinking?

Shaking her head, she wondered if there was some magic in this world, which kept her from thinking straight. Who the hell cared if the moon was with her? It was a moon - and this wasn't a world filled with celestial deities. She could tell that it wasn't, but at the same time - something about the madness that seemed to seep out of a moon like that made her feel as if she was being pumped full of...something...

This meant that she was crazy, didn't it?

She really hated this. Having to fight every inner instinct that she had ever accumulated – it was like being a human contradiction.

Slumping to the ground again, not fifteen feet from where she had started walking, she moaned into her hands again. The back of her eyes were starting to hurt – how long had she been awake? Long enough, obviously, for her eyes to feel like they were slowly being scraped out of her sockets.

It started to creep up on her again – the hazy, high feeling of floating, and the moon was started to look bigger and bigger.

She closed her eyes, pleading for it to just go away – she wanted to remain sane, this thing that kept creeping up on her – it felt strange and deep; like the muck scraped along the bottom of her shoes. Like that muck was slowly seeping into her mind, plugging up her rational thinking, making her think that everything was wonderful and amazing, and that she should just wander off without a care in the world or any concern for herself.

Everything was not wonderful – or amazing, and not even remotely close to safe enough or her to wander off.

Something was trying to make her forget about whom she was and where she was trying to get back to.

Standing, she wobbled slightly, the force of that insanity weighing down upon her, but she shook her head and summoned her strength. She would not be going insane tonight.

Suddenly, she clicked her tongue, realizing that this must be another 'evil'. The evil of this world – the thing that she would be battling against. It was strong – mental and physical at the same time – it had attacked her without remorse as soon as she had landed. What amazing force of evil this world held.

It was harder than it should have been, walking down the street – she had to rely on the walls and other carts and shops to keep herself upright. Once in a while, she had to stop and breathe carefully, before summoning enough strength in her bones to keep on.

She arrived to an open area – one that was in the middle of the town. There were some shops still open here, with people laughing and having a grand ole' time.

Couples danced around, careless and fancy-free, clicking their heels and being cheerful and jolly – something that she wished she could embrace. But, there was something she had to do, and that gnawing madness trying to crack into her skull wasn't going to let her be fancy free anytime soon.

"Come on Soul, you won't know until you try."

"Yahoo! Don't be chicken Soul, though I know it's tough to be the coolest with me around, being the biggest, coolest man of them all!"

"Patty! How could you! You're dress isn't symmetrical anymore – it took me hours to fit that on you straight!"

One group in particular was louder than the rest. Selene's eyes found them easily – and then she cocked her head in confusion.

Ah – how interesting. She had seen these children before – in someone else's memories, moments before she had opened her eyes to this place.

There was the person who had called her here, yes – she had seen then in those memories. That meant that whoever she was looking for was connected to these children somehow…

All of a sudden, they weren't the center of her attention anymore, and she forgot anything about remembering or trying to follow the connection.

A strawberry blonde was lurking amongst the shadows, face wide and peaked as she tried not to draw attention to herself. Selene didn't know how she had noticed her in the first place, but it was like her eyes had automatically zeroed in on the shadows, finding her before she was out of sight forever. Her voice was muted – hoarse from being so shocked, but she spoke anyway – and amazingly, the blonde heard it, eyes snapping to Selene before widening with familiarity.

"Georgie?"

It was natural – the name was easily brought from the dusty recesses of her mind – Georgie had rushed forward and wrapped her hands around Selene's neck, tears streaming down her face.

"Selene!"

Ah – there it was – thank goodness. Selene had been concerned that Georgie wouldn't have remembered her – considering what problems she was having with her memory herself.

"I was so freaked out! Have you seen where we are? What kind of freaky town is this, do you see that thing?" Georgie pointed to the moon, which was still ghoulish and creepy. Georgie turned her attention back to Selene, and gave her a once-ever, taking in Selene's wide, hollow eyes, "Are you okay?"

"Just fine," Selene's head was clearing – the blurs around the edges were starting to become clearer – but the damp darkness in her mind refused to let up. Would this pressure forever exist in the back of her head?

"I don't know where we are – I was hoping you would know – and I have a bit of a headache," Selene laughed, "probably from the fall."

Georgie shook her head, "Now that you mention it," She turned her attention to her bottom, gently tapping her sore rump, "My butt is killing me – and you landed on your head?" Georgie suddenly shot her a concerned look, "How are you not unconscious?"

"I guess my head is just that hard," Selene ran a hand through her short, spiky hair, "But, that's enough of that – we're here now, regardless of how we got here, and what pains it took to do it. It's time to return to the mission."

Georgie screwed her face up in a frown, her blue eyes dark and even in the moonlight. She looked around, "Well – maybe…maybe…we'll find them eventually; we should just lay low or something and get some clues."

"Find them? Oh, right!" Selene looked around as well, seeing the people wandering around – the group from before was gone. Darn it. There had been something about them, something that had had something stirring in Selene's stomach, "Hmm. Maybe we should walk around for a while – see if we can sense anything."

Nodding, Georgie took a step before latching onto Selene's arm, "I wish that moon would shut up." She grumbled, causing Selene to grin, looking up at that moon again.

Her head pounded – black spots dance around her vision – once, twice, she felt her brain snap, everything pitch black, until she was aware again.

It barely took any time – Georgie didn't even notice – but Selene's stomach churned.

"I guess it's something we'll just have to get used to, Georgie."

There was no trace of the calm, confident humour that had previously been laced within her tone.

Now there was only fear.

* * *

_**End Chapter One**_

_**Bonus:**_

* * *

"Isn't this exciting? Everything is so beautiful!" Tsubaki was sparkling.

"Can't we go home already? I'm tired." Soul was grumbling.

"Yahoo! Let's get wasted! Drinks on me!" BlackStar was…BlackStar-ing.

All in all – it was a nice night. Drunken men and scantily dressed women aside. Maka was enjoying herself – she had written a test today that she felt really good about, and she had gotten another book for herself to mark it. She couldn't wait to go home and start reading it, but she couldn't get over how tonight was such a nice night.

It wasn't often she felt like strolling around this late – but sometimes she couldn't help it. The fresh air – the conversation – just being with her friends, she didn't mind it at all.

"Hey look here!" BlackStar exulted, running up to a vender who was serving alcohol, "Such a big guy deserves to get the best! Four shots, please!"

Maka rolled her eyes. He really was an idiot – no one was going to sell and underage kid like him alcohol.

Her eyes bulged out of her head when he pulled out a fake I.D.

"BlackStar!" Tsubaki was behind him, eyes also wide, "Where did you get that?"

"What are you talking about?" BlackStar said after collecting his purchase, "I've always had it – why wouldn't I?" He laughed and handed Soul a shot glass, "Here you go, Soul!"

Soul regarded the drink in his hand with pursed lips, "This doesn't sound too cool, BlackStar – we're underage."

"Are you kidding me? Only the coolest guys drink alcohol! Drinking underage should increase your cool level like…" BlackStar had to think for a moment, "A lot."

Maka fought the urge to roll her eyes again. There was no way that Soul would do something so stupid, only BlackStar was that much of a moron.

"Sweet." Soul laughed and downed the cup, causing Maka to…of course…

"Maka Chop!"

"Ah," Soul rubbed the back of his head, "What the hell Maka? I almost choked!"

"You idiot," She knocked the cup out of his hand, giving him the most disgusted look that she could muster, "Don't you know what drinking does to you? It'll make you even stupider than you are, and then what will I do? I can't have a stupid weapon, Soul."

"Oh, come on Maka – that's dumb. Drinking doesn't do that-"

"Really?" Maka didn't want to say it – but she knew that she had to, or else Soul might drink some more, "What do you think happened to my Papa? He drinks. Look at how he turned out."

On cue – her papa could be heard slurring his words in a high pitched squeal while he was surrounded by ladies gawking over him - he was wearing a loose, blue kimono that barely went to his knees. A mentally scaring picture that would forever be burned into Maka's brain.

BlackStar came up to Soul again, another drink extended to him, "Here's another one on my buddy!"

Soul took one look at it, before knocking it away, "Are you crazy? Get that away from me!"

"What?" BlackStar looked at Soul, concerned, "What's the matter? It's only one drink." He stepped closer to Soul, who backed away quickly.

"I'm serious BlackStar - if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn't ever touch that stuff again!"

Maka smiled.

Soul really wasn't like her papa at all, was he?

"Selene!"

A loud, almost desperate sounding yell caught her attention. Two girls were jogging towards each other - a short blonde and a tall blonde. The taller one seemed oddly jubilant - Maka could sense a soul wavelength from her spot a good distance away. Her soul rippled with barely contained excitement. The shorter one, however; her soul seemed to shimmer calmly, without any ripples or changes, but there was something off...the tone of it...like it was too thick or...was veiled the word she was looking for?

Intrigued, Maka called upon her Soul Perception eyes and in the moment she would have seen their souls, she felt her shoulder be grabbed by someone, and was spun around.

"Come on Maka!" Patty jumped and clapped her hands, "Everyone's already left us!"

Oh. Maka realized that her group had already moved onto the next interesting display, leaving her to herself, and Patty to...whatever she had been doing...

"Thank's a lot, Soul." She muttered, before looking back to the girls - and then they disapeered in the crowd, and Maka shrugged to herself.

In Death World, strange things seemed to happen everyday. You think she'd be used to it by now.


	2. Arc 1 Chapter 2

**Hola peoples!**

**How was your week? You can answer my random question when you review - wink wink- nudge nudge-**

**Well – here's chapter two! Ripe and ready to be picked and eaten, made with all the best things my brain could buy. Also – in case any of you are curious – these poem-type things that are before every chapter – most of them are made up by me, and if they're not then you'll probably be able to tell, cause it'll be something from the manga or anime. Something really obvious...you know, like: A sound soul dwells within a sound body and sound mind, or however that little saying from the anime goes.**

**And, just so you know - I'll probably be editing this story a lot as we go, taking all the chapters down and re-posting edited versions. I'll try to keep that down to a minimal as best I can, but no promises.**

**I do not own Soul Eater. I don't even own a tic-tac.**

**_There's a light in the dark._****_  
_****_But – there's something wrong with this…_****_  
_****_The glowing, haunting light is miscoloured -_****_  
_****_There is nothing sacred about this._****_  
_****_But – this is how I like it-_****_  
_****_Those sickening shades of blue and pink_****_  
_****_Are nothing more than hideous_****_  
_****_When placed next to your gleaming_****_  
_****_Reds and Blacks._**

**_Begin Chapter Two:_**

* * *

"Do you think we'll be out here all night?"

Georgie was scared – they could have been circling the same street over and over again for all she knew, but somehow Selene managed to quell her fears, and assure her that they were making progress: scowering the city one street at a time, looking for hints about the person who managed to summon them here. It was weird; usually they appeared either in front of the caller, or nearby. Georgie wasn't as use to this as Selene was - the last mission that she had had was over three years ago. She had seen Selene off and on in that time, spending her time training and learning - following in her best friends footsteps.

"Well," Selene put a thoughtful hand to her chin, "We really don't have anywhere else to go, no money, no friends…we're pretty much homeless at this point."

"Homeless?" The word was too dirty for her to say without whispering – never in her existence had Georgie been so…poor; so pathetic, she didn't even have a home? How were they going to get through this? If they didn't find the person today, then they would have to spend the night on the street!

What were they going to do?

"Don't worry, we'll find something. I mean, who could resist two girls like ourselves," Selene gestured to her well endowed chest – grinning when Georgie made a face, "Kidding, please – who does that? We'll just get jobs or…something." Her face fell into a frown, but she smiled again a few seconds later. "Don't worry," She repeated, more soothingly this time.

But, Georgie did worry – she worried because there was nothing worse than knowing that she didn't have a safe haven to get back to – that there were no tubs she could get into a give herself a nice relaxing bubble bath.

She sighed forlornly as she realized that she probably wouldn't have another bubble bath for a long while. Her muscles still ached, and waking around wasn't helping anything. But, what could she do? She couldn't complain - what kind of partner would she be if she just complained about everything? If she was going to complain, she would have to pick and choose her points, and at that moment her stomach was growling. Selene wouldn't mind getting something to eat. Ten to one, she was starving too, but hadn't realized it yet - too preoccupied with understanding the world around her.

"Do you think we could-" She was cut off by a scream.

Not a small, yelping scream – a blood curdling, glass shattering scream that almost sent Georgie to her knees in terror. What was projected in that scream with nothing more than, _"I'm dying."_

Somebody was in trouble tonight.

Selene's hand wove around hers – like a metal cuff that prevented her from staying rooted in one spot from terror – she lurched forward with Selene, her heart hammering hard enough to dazzle her vision with black dots. That was how they compensated for one another. Georgie was never the type of girl to run off into the face of danger. She was a grounded person – a stone that stayed still and rooted, even in the face of danger. She couldn't help it – it was who she was, who she had always been.

But Selene was inverted.

She was never still – not with fear or anger – she moved and flowed, not even thinking about what she was doing and who she dragged off to doom with her. It was that absolute confidence and foolish headstrong thinking that had Georgie doing what she never thought she could ever do, and then laughing about it afterwards.

She didn't know whether to thank Selene, or run away from her for her own safety. But – there was something the both of them had always seemed to agree on. People in danger needed saving – and they could never stand by and watch idly. So – they ran, Georgie picking up her pace after the initial shock of fear wore off. Fear was still there- but so was Selene's warm, encouraging hand. Around the maze, they turned corners and hoped fences – trying to locate where the sound had come from - trying to pinpoint where the vibrations of terror were being created.

Georgie had no doubt that Selene had heard the scream – and then immediately knew where to go. She was that kind of person - homing in on trouble, like she had a beacon built into her when she was born. They skidded to a stop – Georgie could feel it – the presence that evil left imprinted on the very air. Before they turned the corner to face whatever darkness existed here, she stopped them both, keeping Selene back. Somehow- Selene had understood Georgie's intentions – she stopped, back pressed against the brick wall, chest heaving and eyes wild.

They made eye contact, before Selene peered around the edge – Georgie closed her eyes and listened carefully to Selene's heartbeat.

Selene's breath had caught; Georgie heard the shuddering of lungs that meant Selene was having trouble breathing. And then her heartbeat picked up – faster, but not harder. A good sign. Faster meant Selene was thrilled somewhat – anxious to see it, her fear momentarily forgotten. Harder meant that Selene was having trouble existing – whatever made her heart hammer like that was something they didn't want to deal with. When did we become so close? Georgie wondered briefly, how did we ever manage to get this far? She couldn't remember much of her life – but she knew the mission they were on – she also knew Selene, and that was enough for her.

Suddenly, something happened that Georgie didn't understand. Selene let out a pained gasp, and her hand latched onto her forehead, eyes closed. Was her head aching? A headache? Had she been hit? Seen around the wall and delivered a deadly blow?

"Selene?"

Suddenly, Selene's eyes snapped open – the same instant Georgie's back went rigid. Blood had been spilt…life had been lost…it was something they felt in their bones…something that could put Selene's pain down a few notches and take over her entire brain - something that could make Georgie forget about her hurting friend.

Selene threw herself around the corner, her hand still locked with Georgie's – who was consequently dragged along, though she didn't mind – she would have jumped around the corner herself, eventually.

It was a monster. Georgie could feel fear creeping across her skin – like the frost, like the rain: it seeped. But, what got a hold of her heart was the absolute sadness she felt when her eyes saw the bloody girl beneath it – a blue orb peeking out from her chest. She knew at once – how she knew, she didn't know – but she couldn't be wrong.

It was a soul.

Georgie felt Selene's grip increase – enough to cause pain – but it was welcomed. Fear ebbed away – replaced by a hot, burning emotion that Georgie also welcomed. There was another girl –sobbing – trapped in a corner by the monster that was now feasting on her friend's soul. This revelation brought Georgie completely out of her fear – she wasn't stone in that moment and she stepped forward at the same moment Selene did.

Both of them yelling.

"Oi! Monster! Lookie over here!"

"Two nice, strong souls for you to eat!"

Anything to save that one life, Georgie chanted, anything to save that one life. It saw them – the holes as its eyes taking them in for a moment, before it was overcome with blood lust, and took off after them – howling like a hound of hell, caught up with their sweet scents. Georgie began to run before Selene did – her arms yanking backwards as Georgie took her turn to drag her along. The difference this time was that Selene wasn't rooted by fear. No – she was rooted by something a lot stupider.

"You're gonna get yourself killed." Georgie panted, no longer holding onto Selene's hand. It was easier to run for their lives when they weren't linked like that.

"Whatever," Selene huffed, nimbly dodging a trash can, she turned to look back – something Georgie couldn't bring herself to do.

"Run faster," Selene advised, her voice low and intense– and they took off. Could they push themselves faster than this? Georgie didn't think so – this was their limit. If they didn't out run it at this speed – they were going to be killed.

"Dammit!"

Georgie glanced fearfully at Selene – that tone meant that they didn't stand a very good chance – and Georgie's fears were about to be realized.

They were so engrossed in their running, that neither Selene nor Georgie noticed the small steps that were coming up fast – which they both managed to trip on and fly forward, hitting the ground hard.

Georgie banged her elbow – sure that she had managed to sprain something, well; it sure felt like she did. She opened her eyes – level with the ground – to see Selene sprawled out in front of her.

Unconscious. There wasn't a lot that could knock that girl out – so she must have hit her head hard – in fact, Georgie could see smears of blood from where she skidded had forward.

_Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud_

It was here.

Georgie was in a last ditch effort – she slid backwards, so that Selene was touching her back, and spread her arms wide. She was going to protect Selene no matter what - because this thing was a monstrosity - it was the bane of the all the souls in existence.

"As laid down by the Head of the Council, it is prohibited to force a soul from its residing body – those that practise this heinous act will be punished." The words flew from Georgie's mouth, her brain firing, crackling to life as a member of the Council – she had no choice but to warrant this creature of its crimes, before she even tried to take care of it - but, it didn't seem to care what the Head of the Council had prohibited, because it came at her, faster than she could have foreseen.

It was instinctive: she closed her eyes, like anyone would do right before they were about to be ripped apart. Except maybe Selene; she was insane enough to stare death in the face without flinching. Now that she thought about it – Selene sometimes didn't even sleep with her eyes closed. She had caught her a few times, staring at the ceiling; almost convincing Georgie she was awake, before she would snore – a god awfully loud snore, which sometimes made Georgie giggle.

Most times it annoyed her. Usually when she flipped the snorer over, it stopped but sometime…sometimes it took a nice slap to the face for her to stop.

This thought has gone on way to long, Georgie realized. Shouldn't she be dead by now? Yes – Georgie realized when she opened her eyes – she should be dead by now. But there was something standing in between her and the claws that had extended out to her – a person…a tall person…a man?

With red hair.

"In the name of Lord Death, I will punish you for attacking such young, defenceless girls." He spoke like a hero – Georgie couldn't see his face, but it sounded like he was smiling. And who was Lord Death? Didn't sound too pleasant, but who knew, he could be a good guy. She had to learn not to judge people by their names…but his outfit didn't say much for him. A loose-fitting blue kimono that was practically falling off of his body didn't really communicate 'good guy' to her.

And how was he blocking the claw? Leaning to the left, Georgie tried to see what was in his hand – and her eyes popped out of her when she saw that he didn't have a hand. He had a…a blade…hand…thing. As she was staring in awe, trying to comprehend, a sound caught her attention – something ripping?

_Rip Rip Rip_

More blades shot out from his back, eliciting a small scream for Georgie, who shoved herself backwards again – pushing herself against Selene's unconscious body. What was this man? How was he doing this?

Georgie knew that she shouldn't really care – he was saving her life, she should be bowing in gratitude. But she was too awed for that. He leapt forward; slashing through the monster like it was no sweat – killing it in moments. Something strange happened then – it seemed to unravel – the body coming undone, and in its place was a glowing red orb.

Another soul? Georgie wondered.

"Ah – yum." The man remarked, before grasping onto to it – and to Georgie's horror – stuffing it into his mouth. She was disgusted – and scared. This guy was eating souls – just like the monster had, what if he tried to eat hers next? He smiled at her – a somewhat creepy smile – and stepped forward, hands outstretched in a peaceful motion.

"Don't be afraid – it's gone now, you're alright." He got down on one knee; down to her level, and gently took her hand in his. He stared into Georgie's eyes – which was a really creepy gesture – and briefly, Georgie wondered if everything in this world was creepy: first that moon, and then that monster, and now this guy?

Seriously? No wonder this place needed help.

"My name is Spirit - how about you tell me your name, pretty girl?" He grinned, clearly trying to make a pass at her. Before Georgie could react to his move, a fist shot out from above Georgie's head, planting itself in the man's face, knocking him backwards and unconscious, his robe flaring up, causing him to show more of himself that he might have wanted. Flushing, Georgie looked away, glancing behind her.

Oh, Georgie realized with delight, Selene was awake.

She turned, and first saw the blood that was caked on her friend's face. Her lips were pursed, and she was giving the man a look that sent shivers up and down Georgie's spine.

"Not on my life, pervert."

Oh well. At least he wasn't holding her hand anymore.

* * *

**_End Chapter Two_**

**_Bonus:_**

* * *

"But I don't want to!"

"You _have_ to!"

"Dammit Maka, I'm not going to go, so forget it!"

"Soul." Maka began slowly, trying to keep her anger in check, "Kid will be expecting us, and come on - it's going to be fun; there'll be cake and streamers and music - and presents!" She listed off all the things that made a birthday party exciting, but she could tell that none of these things was interesting Soul in the slightest.

"Stop it Maka, I don't want to have a big party! He's invited half the school!" His mouth was turned down into a toothy grimace, but Maka couldn't understand what was wrong with him.

"It's a special occasion!" Maka argued, crossing her arms, "Kid's been planning it for months!" She didn't add that she had also been planning it, bent on making it the best birthday celebration ever. Definitely better than last year...

Last year all Soul had done was laze around the house. She had made him a special dinner, though - and afterwards they had had a movie marathon of all Souls favourites. It really hadn't been that exciting, and Maka had vowed to herself that Soul's next birthday would be something that he could have fun with. She and Kid had been planning for months - with the music, and the food and everything that Soul liked.

"I don't care that Kid's been planning it - I still don't want to go."

"Maka CHOP!" Maka brought down a large book on Soul's head - her vision hazed with red around the edges. Why couldn't he just have fun once in a while? Was it his cool-guy attitude that kept him from wanting to go? That didn't make any sense - he should want to be partying it up with everyone else.

"You're such a jerk, I can't believe you'd let all of our planning go to waste! Do you know how long it took for me to find that Davis record you like so much? And that food was hell to make - I was up till three making that stuff." She could remember it vividly; having to figure out how to make all that fancy crap - freaking out when she thought she had done it wrong...and the depressing realization that she had, in fact, done it wrong and had to start all over again.

"Maka..._You_ set this up?"

"I..." Make bit her lip, cursing herself for letting her emotions get the best of her mouth, "Well, Kid did stuff too...he was the one who decorated his house and cast all the invitations..." Souls shocked face caused her cheeks to heat up. Was he that surprised that she wanted him to have a good birthday? Now Maka was insulted, more so than before. "Fine - if you don't want to go, that's just great. Stay here for all I care, I'll tell them you're sick or something." She wanted to get out of his presence as fast as possible; her emotions rioting inside her - anger, hurt, shock; it was a battle between them all.

"Whoa, Maka. Listen, I didn't know that you had...Maka...why? Why did you put so much effort into this? My birthday's not a big deal." Soul grabbed her wrist and kept her from storming out, like she wanted.

"Why? Why! Because your birthday does matter! I wanted it to be special - I didn't want it to be a repeat of last year, when we didn't even do anything for it..." Maka gritted her teeth; remembering the failure of last year enraged her. She wanted Soul's birthday to be cool - to be something that he enjoyed...

"Last year?" Soul asked, before starting to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" Maka demanded dangerously, fingers closing around another book.

"Maka, last year was the best birthday I've had. I don't care for parties, especially when they're centered on me - I would much rather just stay at home with the people that I really care about and relax." He shook his head, still chuckling, "Last year was definitely the coolest birthday ever."

"Ah..." Maka blinked, before putting the book down. She hadn't realized...though, Soul had never said that he hadn't enjoyed last year...she had just assumed. "Okay." Maka smiled, and took her shoes off.

Kid received a call from Maka later on; telling him the both Maka and Soul had caught the flu and wouldn't be able to attend. Disappointed, he told the guests, who all groaned, but the part went on. Black Star somehow made it into a party for himself, of course.

Maka and Soul, however, rented their favorite movies and made snacks; sitting on the couch into the early hours of the morning, laughing and having a cool time, indeed.


End file.
